Phones to Consider in Pakej Komunikasi Belia

It's 31st December, the last day of Year 2012. A few minutes later, we will be in Year 2013 and we can start the registration for the Pakej Komunikasi Belia (Youth Communication Package).

So which phones are worth to consider from the list of 23 devices? I've compiled a table for quick comparison purpose:

No.	Model	RRP	Screen	OS
1	Alcatel OneTouch 993D	588	4.0”	Android 4.0
2	Alcatel OneTouch Glory 2	-
3	Alcatel OneTouch Inspire 2	-
4	The Buzz Phone	-
5	HTC Wildfire	385	3.2”	Android 2.2
6	Huawei Ideos X3	330	3.2”	Android 2.3
7	LG Optimus L3	414	3.2”	Android 2.3
8	Ninetology Black Pearl II	599	4.0”	Android 4.0
9	Ninetology Palette	345	3.0”	Android 2.3
10	Nokia 2730	218
11	Nokia 7230	-
12	Nokia Asha 305	299
13	Nokia Asha 308	320
14	Nokia Asha 311	419
15	Nokia C2-03	260
16	Nokia Lumia 610	539	3.7”	WM 7.5
17	Samsung Galaxy Chat	495	3.0”	Android 4.0
18	Samsung Galaxy Mini	499	3.1”	Android 2.3
19	Samsung Galaxy Pocket	370	2.8”	Android 2.3
20	Samsung Galaxy Y	400	3.0”	Android 2.3
21	Sony Xperia Tipo	505	3.2”	Android 4.0
22	ZTE Acqua	699	4.0”	Android 4.0
23	ZTE V790	-

These are the smartphones that are worth buying:
1. Nokia Lumia 610
Nokia is a brand well-known for its quality and durability, 3.7" screen, 5MP camera, great at locking GPS signal and smoother interface as running in Windows Phone 7.5 Mango.

2. Ninetology Black Pearl II
Malaysian brand packed with 4.0" IPS screen, dual core processor, 5MP camera with ability to shoot 8MP photo, dual SIM, running on Android 4.0.

3. Ninetology Palette
3.0" screen, dual SIM, can purchase with special price RM 299 when trade in with old/ unused phone.

4. Sony Xperia Tipo
3.2" screen, 800 MHz processor, 3.2 MP camera, running on Android 4.0.

How to Check Your Unclaimed Money

If you have a dormant account with a bank for 10 years, the account would have been closed and the amount inside that account would be transferred to the Registrar of Unclaimed Moneys in accordance to Unclaimed Money Act 1965. Besides dormant bank account monies, Unclaimed money can also be in the form of share dividends, life insurance policies, unclaimed wages and EPF contributions.

You can now check unclaimed moneys under your name or your family members via the index of UMA Compliance and Administration Sdn Bhd (Umaca). You can search for free by keying in your name or identification card number.

If you found money owing to you, you can download the information pack from the website. The information pack includes a checklist of the documents you will need and also a format of your application letter to the registrar. If the value of your unclaimed money is less than RM500, you can download the information pack for free. Else, a sum of 10% of the value will be charged.

You can claim the money yourself by gathering the pertinent documents and approaching the registrar or seek Umaca's assistance on this with charges.

Smartphone RM200 Rebate for Youth

As part of Budget 2013 tabled in September 2012, the Youth Communication Package is a scheme coordinated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and implemented by the celcos,  to encourage more youths especially those in rural areas to enjoy the nation’s broadband facilities.

Update on 3/1/2013: Restriction on smartphone price is lifted.

Youths who qualify for the RM 200 rebate will be able to purchase 'selected' 3G smartphones costing up to RM 500 from selected dealers and agents appointed by service providers. With the rebate, they are expected to pay no more than RM 300 to own a new 3G smartphone.

Eligibility:

• Age 21 to 30.
• Income below RM 3000.
• Need to subscribe to data plan from celcos, if not yet a data plan subscriber.

The list of smartphones offered is as follows:

1) Alcatel 993D
2) Alcatel OneTouch Glory 2
3) Alcatel OneTouch Inspire 2
4) The Buzz Phone
5) HTC Wildfire
6) Huawei Ideos X3
7) LG Optimus L3
8) Ninetology Black Pearl II
9) Ninetology Palette
10) Nokia 2730
11) Nokia 7230
12) Nokia Asha 305
13) Nokia Asha 308
14) Nokia Asha 311
15) Nokia C2-03
16) Nokia Lumia 610
17) Samsung Galaxy Chat
18) Samsung Galaxy Mini
19) Samsung Galaxy Pocket
20) Samsung Galaxy Y
21) Sony Xperia Tipo
22) ZTE Acqua
23) ZTE V790

The models list will be updated from time to time in the Service Provider's website. The brand, model and quantity offered may differ amongst different Service Providers.

The application can be done online via National Broadband Initiative website, starting from 1 January 2013. The scheme is on a first-come-first served basis and will be for the first 1.5 million eligible youths who may claim their smartphones while stocks last.

Mach Points for Cash Campaign

Mach Credit Card by Hong Leong is doing second round of promotion to get more new cardholders, started from 20th December 2012 to 28th February 2013. This time, you can turn your existing reward points from other bank into cash back rewards when you sign up for Mach Credit Card and get another RM 50 bonus on top of your cash back rewards.

Of course, you can still keep the reward points from other bank for gift redemption. The conversion of points into cash rebate is calculated as below:

Balance Transfer	Points conversion per RM1
No Balance Transfer	500
With 4.99% Balance Transfer	400

The cash rebate is subject to a maximum capping of RM250 per cardholder, inclusive of the RM50 cash rebate bonus. If you have 100000 reward points or more from other bank, then you can get RM250 from Hong Leong when your application is approved.

Skim Simpanan Persaraan 1Malaysia

Skim Simpanan Persaraan 1Malaysia was introduced in Malaysia Budget 2010 as a government's initiative to make sure self-employed and individuals without fixed monthly income have their own savings plan upon reaching the retirement age. The 1Malaysia Retirement Savings Scheme is designed to encourage the self-employed and those without fixed monthly income to contribute voluntarily based on what they can afford.

Apart from the yearly dividend, the 1Malaysia Retirement Savings Scheme will also receive the government's contribution of 5% subject to a maximum amount of RM 60 per year. This contribution by the government will only be for a period of 5 years from 2010 to 2014. KWSP will make the claim for the government's contribution twice a year based on the contribution for the first half of the year and second half of the year every year. The government's contribution will be credited into the member's account upon receipt of the amount from the government.

Eligibility:

• Malaysian citizen
• 'Self-employed' 'refers to any individuals who are working with income and not an employee, please refer to FAQ for more details.
• Member of KWSP

If you're not a member of KWSP and interested to sign up, just bring your myKad to the nearest KWSP branch and open a account. After that, you can request for application of 1Malaysia Retirement Savings Scheme. The minimum contribution is RM 50 each time and the maximum contribution will be limited to RM 60000 per year starting from Year 2013.

How to Pay TM Bill with Maybankard 2 AMEX

Previously you need to enrol for Express Autopay if you wish to pay your utilities with AMEX. However, now you can pay your TM bill (Streamyx or Unifi) via maybank2u with AMEX!

I'll walk you through on how to add your TM bill to favourite payee and make payment:

1. After you login maybank2u, go to Quick Link on the upper right hand corner, choose Bill Payment from the drop down menu and click Go.

2. On the Bill Payment page, go to 3rd column and 3rd row, click Add favourite payee.

3. From the drop down menu, choose Telekom Malaysia Berhad and click Continue.

4. Key in your TM account number and account holder name, then click Register.

5. Click Request a TAC number, check ur SMS, key in then click Confirm.

6. After registration is successful, it will display the registration information and status.

7. To pay for TM bill, go to Bill Payment page, click Make a Payment to a favourite payee.

8. Select Telekom Malaysia Berhad from the drop down menu and click Continue.

9. Key in the amount to pay, select Maybankard AMEX as the payment from, click Continue.

10. Double check the payment details and then click Confirm.

11. Payment status will show successful if everything is correct.

HLB 0% Instalment Plan on Nissan Almera Down Payment

Nissan Almera was officially launched in Malaysia in end of October 2012. This is the most value for money model launched by Japanese car maker with price starting from RM 66800.00.

Now Hong Leong Bank has partnered with Nissan to make it even more affordable! HLB Credit Card holders can pay the 10% down payment by their cards and make it into instalment plan for up to 12 months.

0% Interest Extended Payment Plan Tenure	Minimum Amount (RM)
6 months	RM 500 and above
12 months	RM 1000 and above

Let's see how much you need to pay monthly for each model and tenure for 10% down payment by HLB credit cards:

Tenure	E (M/T)	E (A/T)	V (A/T)	VL (A/T)
6 months	RM 1113.33	RM 1163.33	RM 1280.00	RM 1330.00
12 months	RM 556.67	RM 581.67	RM 640.00	RM 665

Get 5% Discount Dell Computer on MasterCard

E-commerce has been gaining steady momentum in the region with potential for further growth in Malaysia. As one of the pioneers of e-commerce, Dell Asia Pacific has forged partnership with MasterCard Worldwide to offer cardholders in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan exclusive discounts, benefits and monthly specials.

Cardholders across the 10 participating countries can access dedicated MasterCard-Dell micro-sites from now till October 31 2013. In Malaysia, MasterCard credit and debit card cardholders will receive up to 5% discounts on selected Dell systems, with a minimum spend of RM 2500 when shop online at the dedicated micro-site.

When you enter the website, it will ask for the first 4 digits of your MasterCard number in order to proceed. Actually, the first 6 digits of a credit card number are known as the Issuer Identification Number (IIN). These identify the institution that issued the card to the card holder. For MasterCard, the card numbers start with the numbers 51 through 55. You may try to input any number starting from 51 through 55 and see.

UOB Triple Fortune

It's five days to Christmas and less than 2 months to Chinese New Year. UOB has launched a campaign called Triple Fortune that give out prosperous gift to customers from 15th December 2012 to 28 February 2013.

For fresh fund deposit of RM 50000 into CASA, customers will be eligible to get a 24-karat gold-plated snake (800 unit only). For the Maxwell & Williams Red Kimono Tea Set (750 unit only), customers need to place fresh fund of RM 150000 into a high yield account, i-Account or Global Currency Premiums Account. Both gifts are on first-come-first-serve while stock last basis and the deposit will be earmarked for 3 months.

For the Fortune FD, the minimum deposit is RM 10000 and limited to RM 5000000. For 3-month-tenure, the interest rate is 3.50% p.a. while for 9-month-tenure, the interest rate is 3.65% p.a.

The Fortune FD promotion is very attractive as the interest rate is high and it does not require earmark of fund in your CASA.

RM 5 Cash Back with AMEX in Petronas

Maybankard 2 AMEX offers the highest cash rebates in the market, the only drawback is that it is not widely accepted by merchants in Malaysia. The reason behind is due to AMEX imposes higher charges to merchants compared to Visa and Mastercard.

Good news to AMEX card holders! Petronas petrol stations now accept AMEX cards and AMEX gives out RM 5 cash back to every principal cardmember when cardmember spends for RM 70 and above in a single receipt in Petronas petrol stations within Klang Valley. The campaign started from 15th December 2012 and ends on 15 February 2013 with a total RM 200000 of cash back.

If you spend RM 70 in Petronas in weekends with Maybankard 2 AMEX, you'll able to get RM 5 cash back plus the 5% rebate and 5x TreatsPoints, you actually get 14.5% cash back! However, each principal cardmember can only enjoy up to RM 5 cash back, so you only can use it once.

Too bad this campaign is only applicable to Petronas within Klang Valley, not Petronas nationwide. I hope that such campaign will cover more regions in the future.

Maybankard Electrical Promotion

Are you planning to buy new electrical appliances recently? There will be 2 promotions for Maybankard card holders. First, senQ at Queensbay Mall Penang will launch a grand re-opening promotion from 20th to 23th December 2012 with up to 15% cash rebates for Maybankard customers.

Customers get to enjoy rebates on selected models when they make payment with Maybankard Visa or Mastercard credit cards:

• 15% for slim TV
• 12% for fridge
• 10% for washing machine, air conditioner
• 8% for camera

The second promotion starts from 21st December 2012 to 14th February 2013 at all AEON BiG outlets (previously known as Carrefour) except USJ 19 Digital Mall, Axis Atrium, Bangsar South and 1st Avenue Penang.

Customers will get 6x TreatsPoints with 36 months Maybankard 0% EzyPay Instalment Plan for purchase of any appliance items above RM 1000 in a single receipt.

If you have Maybankard, it's a very good time to replace your old electrical appliance now. Enjoy your shopping for new appliances with Maybankard!

Income Tax Rebates

In Malaysia Budget 2013, individual income tax rate will be reduced by 1% for each grouped annual income tax exceeding RM2,500 to RM50,000.  It's already end of Year 2012 and we still have only 2 weeks left to prepare for the income tax rebates on Tax Assessment Year 2012.

Below is the list of individual relief types which are still in time to be done in these 2 weeks:

No.	Individual Relief Types	Amount (RM)
1	Medical expenses for parents	5,000 (Limited)
2	Education Fees (Individual)	5,000 (Limited)
3	Complete medical examination	500 (Limited)
4	Purchase of books, journals, magazines and publications	1,000 (Limited)
5	Purchase of personal computer	3,000 (Limited)
6	Net saving in SSPN's scheme	6,000 (Limited)
7	Purchase of sport equipment for sport activities	300 (Limited)
8	Subscription fees for broadband registered in the name of the individual	500 (Limited)
9	Life insurance dan EPF	6,000 (Limited)
10	Private Retirement Scheme	3,000 (Limited)

For purchase of personal computer, are tablets included in that category? If the tablet does not have the features of making phone calls and sending SMS/ MMS via telco service, then it is eligible for income tax rebate. In this case, iPad4 and iPad mini are entitled for the income tax rebate.

For verification or confirmation, you can always contact LHDN by phone 1-800-88-LHDN (5436) or email .